surrender of its forces by 10:00 p.m. eastern time. regardless, the state department says that sanctions versus russia are "likely." in response to the crisis that began friday, president obama is reportedly getting on the phone with european allies, along with vice president joe biden today, telling his russian counterpart over the phone to pull back the troops. secretary of state john kerry flies to ukraine tomorrow. after the meeting today with the president of moldova, another former soviet republic whose security may depend on the result in ukraine. on sunday, kerry was quite strident in his condemnation of russia. >> this is an act of aggression that is completely trumped up in terms of its pretext. it's really 19th-century behavior in the 21st century. >> financial markets today appear to be exacting their own revenge on russia, and investors as a whole. u.s. markets are down triple

digits in midday trading. while the main russian exchange lost about 11% of its value and the russian ruble hit an all-time low against the dollar. still, the question remains, how should the u.s. respond to this crisis, which began after the ouster of ukraine's pro-russia regime last month? the answer among some hawks is, naturally, first blame president obama. the "washington post" editorial section wrote today, "president obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality." a sentiment mirrored by some republicans on the sunday talk shows. >> well, i think putin is playing chess, and i think we're playing marbles. >> we have a weakened and indecisive president that invites aggression. >> president obama spoke with putin for 90 minutes today, expressing his deep concern over the violation of ukrainian sovereignty, according to the white house. however, as germany's angela merkel reportedly told the

president after her own phone call today, putin is not in touch with reality. so, what are president obama's options? well, pretty much everyone of every political stripe has ruled out military intervention. that leaves some combination of economic and diplomatic sanctions, and we'll talk more in depth about that in a second. but it's more important to remember the partnerships with whom the u.s. must work in order to resolve this issue. because as "the new yorker's" david remnick writes, "the new ukrainian leadership is worse than weak, it's unstable." then there are european allies. the fact that the head of the eu central bank today called their economy a glass half full is a reminder that the economy is exceptionally weak in ukraine. and what's more, the eu imports most of its energy from russia, which is a top oil producer. should putin take the risk and turn off the taps, as he did with ukraine in 2009 and in 2006, it could spell disaster for europe and, perhaps, the

u.s. as the "new republic" notes, "any supply shocks in europe that send prices higher will have ripple effects that raise gas prices in the united states." fiona hill is an expert on russia and eurasian affairs at the brookings institution. fiona, thanks for being here. let's start with that question. you do have a lot of criticism of the president saying that he needs to take stronger action. what conceivable stronger action could be taken? >> well, the problem is, as you've just laid out, that the strong action that the president can take really is very dependent on being in lock step with our european allies. the real impact of any sanctions would only be felt on russia if the eu and other key allies are with us in the way that we are all acting together in the sanctions against iran and our dispute over iran's nuclear program. so, if we do anything unilaterally, the leverage that we have is actually fairly minimal. and as we've led out, it really comes down to the energy sector, to big business and to all of the other linkages that russia has with the european union, in

particular on trade, and also on visas. it's really europe that's the main destination for russian businesspeople, for russian tourists, and also for russian officials who actually, in many cases, have their children or the family members studying in europe and also visiting europe on a regular basis. so, europe is really the key here. >> and how likely would the european union be to impose sanctions in conjunction with the united states, given that they are so dependent on russian oil and energy supplies? >> well, the big question is really whether russia, as you lay it out, would take the risk of kind of cutting off energy supplies to europe, and i actually don't think they would. because when russia has cut off gas in the past, in 2006 to 2009, that was specifically to ukraine. but of course, it also cut off the gas transit into europe itself. and that's had some really serious consequences for russia. russia's biggest market is, in fact, europe. russia's also trying to signal to the chinese and to other asian markets it's a reliable

supplier of energy, and that would cause ripple effects across the whole of russian markets. so, russia has to tread very carefully on how much it proceeds with using the gas weapon itself. but also, the europeans don't have a lot of alternatives. there are other alternative supplies, although europe has actually increased its usage of coal from the united states, for example, particularly in germany. but there aren't a lot of options to substitute russian gas. so, that is actually a very difficult situation. but the europeans have a lot of leverage over big business investment from european companies in the united states itself, and it's there that we're going to have the really serious discussions about what europe might be prepared to do, just as they have taken some very serious steps in reaction to what's been happening with iran. >> right to your point, there are a lot of multinationals that do business in the united states that cross both borders. why does it seem like this action by russia, very aggressive in ukraine, did seem to catch people off guard? or did it catch russian experts off guard?

>> unfortunately, the scenarios on the ground in crimea, in particular, are somewhat predictable. when people looked at the weak spot for ukraine it was crimea for at least the last 20 years. there's been a lot of people in the expert community and in governments, quite frankly, who have worried about the potential for some destabilizing act like this in crimea, given the presence of the russian black sea fleet, the large number of russian speakers, ethnic russians and also russian cities in crimea. so, this exact scenario of russia laying claim to crimea through its parliament, giving putin and the russian government a blanket approval by the russian upper house of parliament to take action, ukraine in defense of russian interests and russian citizens and the mobilization of forces around the black sea fleet was something people have foreseen for some time. >> i'm going to ask you to sort of read the mind a little bit of vladimir putin, of what sort of his end game might be. what do you suppose putin is up to here? is his goal simply to keep

ukraine from falling under the sphere of the european union as opposed to russia, or do you think there's some bigger game that would have ripple effects both to the union and to the u.s.? >> there is a critical goal you just laid out, which is that the new government in ukraine, the weak new government and successive governments after it are not in the best position to have a close association with the eu, which is one of the things that triggered this in the first place. putin also does not want to see ukraine pick up the idea again of joining nato, for example, and there's also a strong signaling factor to all the countries around russia in the neighborhood, not just to ukraine, but also to moldova, georgia, and all of the other countries who might be contemplating moving out of russia's orbit that russia is very serious, and that if countries do make a decision to align closely with other entities in the west, that there will be some serious repercussio repercussions, including the loss of territory, particularly in areas where the territory's disputed. >> and it's interesting that you lay it out that way, because

this does feel like sort of the end of the breakup after the soviet union broke up and all those satellites began to spin away out of their orbit. whereas russia's sort of portrayed as being the strong hand here, does it feel like the last sort of vestiges of their influence are sort of spinning away and they're trying to keep them away? and if so, what does that mean for other satellites like iran, like syria? >> well, this really is a culmination, as you put it, of the last 20 years. during the period of boris yeltsin, the president before putin, he also actually attempted similar acquisitions or reacquisitions of neighboring territory, at least through the same kinds of mechanisms, but they didn't have the capacity to pull it off. so, again, this is a very strong signal now that russia feels it has the capacity, it certainly feels that circumstances necessitate it. and what it shows for other instances where russia feels its interests are challenged in some way, that vladimir putin feels he has the ability to act and that he will act. so, it's a very strong signal that putin and putin's russia will defend their interests as

they see them in certain sets of circumstances. but it's also because they're seeing a moment of acute weakness on the part of ukraine and also that they know that the west, the united states and the european union are highly constrained in the ways that we can act in response to this, especially if we've ruled out any kind of military response off the table right at the outset. >> all right. global chess pieces moving, very important information. thank you, fiona hill. >> thank you for having me. >> with russia on the radar, president obama hosts israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu at the white house. the president wants to strike a peace agreement, and the clock is ticking. will his tough love message for netanyahu convince israel to sign on? and later, the weather outside is frightful, and so are the climate change deniers. why bill nye the science guy says this latest storm does not pour cold water on the dangers of climate change. before larry instantly transferred money from his bank of america savings account to his merrill edge retirement account. before he opened his first hot chocolate stand calling winter an "underserved season".

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it's a heck of a day to try and talk peace. against the backdrop of international arm-wrestling over the crisis in crimea, the obama administration is staring down a self-imposed deadline to get to a framework for peace between israel and the palestinians. and just as israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu was arriving at the white house, we have word israeli air forces have attacked a target in gaza. at least one person from the military wing of islamic jihad was reportedly killed and two wounded. right now, netanyahu is sitting down with president obama for a bit of arm-twisting. with the president having told bloomberg's jeffrey goldberg, "i believe that if bibi is strong enough that if he decided this was the right thing to do for israel, that he could do it. if he does not believe that a peace deal with the palestinians is the right thing to do for israel, then he needs to

articulate an alternative approach. and as i said before, it's hard to come up with one that's plausible." palestinian president mahmoud abbas gets his turn two weeks from now. the goal -- lock in a two-state solution to the centuries-old struggle, and do it by the end of april. if that sounds like a tall order, that's because it is. the president has said the window is closing for a viable two-state solution and even puts the odds of success at less than 50%. but secretary of state john kerry is digging in, saying failure is not an option. kerry speaks tonight at the annual policy conference of the american/israel public affairs committee, apac, which is going on all day. now, you may remember, apac recently took on the white house and lost, bidding against a diplomatic pact toward a long-term nuclear agreement with iran. senator john mccain addressed the group, weaving together a narrative of an m.i.a. administration when it comes to exercising force in russia, syria, and in iran. >> i believe the iranian people

can have access to peaceful civilian nuclear energy, but that doesn't require an industrial unit uranium enrichment program, a heavy water reactor, advanced centrifuges, and it certainly doesn't require nuclear facilities dug deep into mountains. >> all right, so, now know what the people in power think, but where do the american people stand? according to one survey conducted by gfk polling for "foreign policy" magazine, support for a two-state solution is surprisingly tepid. just 39% support that when given. if the two-state solution were taken off the table, 65% of americans in the poll say they favor a one-state solution, one democratic state with jews and arabs given equal rights and citizenship. joining me now to discuss options on and off the table, former u.s. embass doctor to morocco and current mideast adviser on counterterrorism, marc ginsberg and msnbc contributor and palestinian

journalist rula jibril. i want to ask you about air strikes in gaza by the israeli military. what kind of message does that send at the same time that prime minister benjamin netanyahu is meeting with president obama? >> well, joy, first of all, congratulations on your show. and secondly, just response. you know, gaza has been a real problem from a security point of view to israel because there are extremist islamic organizations that even operate outside of the control of hamas, firing missiles into israel on a regular basis. and so, it's natural and defensible for israel to use military force to respond to those provocations. that said, that should really not be the issue before the president and prime minister netanyahu today. frankly, there's a hell of a lot more that the two of them, as your opening piece outlined, insofar as a durable framework

agreement to get to a sustainable status. at the same time, president netanyahu would always like to make the argument that every issue that stands in the way of final status happens to directly affect israel's security, and that's a problem, because he's defining israel's interests in a way that are inconsistent with a solution. >> let me ask you, rula, about the same question. with active military action going on in gaza, is that really sort of the right atmosphere for peace to be discussed in washington? you've just come from three days in washington discussing just this very issue. >> i don't think prime minister benjamin netanyahu cares, actually, about what kind of message he's sending. his message has been constant -- he is against any peace agreement. that's why he's been building settlements over and over in the last two years, and even building settlements in an area called e-1 that connects the west bank with jerusalem. that means whatever palestinian state, they will not have as a capital jerusalem, which they care about. i think bottom line, we're too far. you know, what the palestinian

wants is too far from what the israeli wants. but i think the powerful man in this equation is bibi netanyahu. he holds the key to the power and to the kingdom, and he's the one that can decide what kind of future we can have as israelis and palestinians, whether we will have one state, bi-national state, but then he would go down in history like the guy that will dismantle the jewish identity of that state. so, if he doesn't want that, he has a window fortunate, very short window fortunate to give -- you know, to sign an agreement and give the palestinians what they want. and what they want is not different from what people in caracas, in ukraine, in the arab spring, they want freedom, democracy and dignity. >> and let me go off that issue of settlements just a little bit, ambassador ginsburg, because that has been one of the sticking points in trying to get to a settlement, and it does seem that the continued building of settlements, it's been an irritant to the united states. it's been raised over and over again by the obama administration and previous administrations. we're trying to get to peace,

why in your estimation does that activity continue, and can it continue if we're hoping to have, i mean, in a month's time some framework for peace? >> joy, that's the essential heart of the matter here, as she rightfully points out. prime minister netanyahu has consistently continued to build on existing and expand settlements because he has the equivalent of the tea party that he's catering to in his own coalition. a very right-wing, extremist political movement that is opposed to any settlement that's part of his coalition. now, that's the challenge. does prime minister netanyahu lead or is he going to let the tea party and israel lead him? there's an essential requirement -- to end the settlement construction in order to be able to provide the very type of durable, sovereignty palestinian state that would live side by side with israel in peace. and every time there's another nail in another building in a settlement, it's another nail in the coffin of a durable

two-state solution. >> well, let me ask you, to answer your question a little built, ambassador, does prime minister netanyahu have the strength to overcome the far right parties in his own country and sue for peace? does he have that strength? >> yes. >> yes. actually, the best part about the answer to that question is that the majority of the israeli public, notwithstanding the poll that seems to be taken here in the united states, favors a two-state solution by a significant majority. >> 77%. >> the prime minister of israel has the power, he has the capacity to lead his country forward. the question is, is he going to show magnanimity and leadership or is he going to succumb to being in effect led around by the nose by the very right-wing extremists that are part of his coalition? he has the choice to make. he does not have to avoid making that choice if he wants to. he has the support of the majority of the israeli public, and indeed, can rely on others to support him. >> right, and i want to quickly ask rula the same question for

the palestinians, because there's been the narrative, you have the gaza leadership, the west bank leadership that are divided. there is enough unity to drive the deal? >> look, what drives the palestinian authority in this moment is the demands on the ground, the demands on the ground of millions of people that are looking actually to the leadership in gaza and telling them, you don't represent us anymore. we don't want you anymore, and that's why they've been more and more demonstrations in gaza, defying hamas and their ruling. they don't want that. what the people on the ground wants, as i said, freedom and democracy and a better life, dignified life where a soldier that is 20 years old doesn't stop them and tell them, okay, you can't go to hospital or to work. they want a future that is, you know, a future where they are treated as citizens. and netanyahu can decide whether to include them as citizens or to bomb them to submission as solution. it's in his hands. >> and in your estimation, do the palestinian people believe that the united states is a

credible actor, is an actor that is impartial and that can do it, can get it done? >> i think the palestinians look at apac today and they think, who has the upper hand here? apac to pressure president obama or president obama that can pressure israel? they think the key issue here is the $3 billion that we give to israel. can we intertwine that with pressure on, you're not using that, into building settlements or not? that's what matters for the palestinians. >> that's the key question. rula jebreal, ambassador ginsberg, thank you. turning to south africa and day one of the oscar pistorius murder trial. the blade runner with synthetic limbs pleading not guilty in his murder trial. he claims he thought his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, was an intruder when he fatally shot her on valentine's day last year. today a neighbor testified that she heard a woman's blood-curdling screams and then four gunshots. the defense claims the scene was

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oh, yes, it's time for the stories you can't stop buzzing about on social media in a little segment we like to call "we the tweepel." now, you may be wondering why i'm wearing this fabulous pin today. well, today, march 3rd, is triple negative breast cancer awareness today. you may not be buzzing about it yet, but you should be. triple negative breast cancer is a particularly aggressive form affecting women and women, offensive at younger ages. two national organizations focus on tnbc awareness, the tnbc foundation, who started tnbc day and research and triple step for the cure, focusing on patient needs. triple step was founded by flowers, in honor of a radio producer who died in 2009. for more info on triple negative breast cancer, please visit thegrio.com. okay, one of the biggest

winners at the oscars last night was social media, and you can't stop talking about ellen degeneres and her movie star selfie. ellen's epic selfie actually broke records and temporarily broke twitter with its group snapshot of hollywood's biggest stars. the twit pic also broke president obama's record of the most rapidly retweeted tweet of all time. last check, it's been retweeted 2 million times, making oscar history. you also can't stop talking about the recent protest at the white house over the keystone pipeline. 400 people were arrested on sunday, and pics circulated on your facebook and twitter accounts of the protesters who tied them self to the white house fence to demonstrate their opposition to the controversial project. now, behind the show of resistance is a fear of what the pipeline, which would stretch over 1,700 miles from canada to the gulf of mexico, could do to the environment. the protesters say the risk of oil spills and the destruction of wildlife outweigh the potential benefits of creating a few hundred jobs.

we'll have more coming up in a few minutes on something else that's tied to our addiction to oil, climate change. plus, some background on why we call it that, instead of global warming. stay with us for that. and don't forget to join the conversation with fellow reider fans on twitter, facebook, instagram and keep telling us what's important to you.

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yet another massive winter storm barrels across the country after dropping torrential rain in the west and slamming the midwest it dumped snow and ice on the east coast. thousands of flights are canceled and hundreds of thousands of school kids are getting yet another snow day! yay! and federal workers in washington are also getting a snow day. their fourth this winter. all of that causing governors from tennessee to new jersey to declare states of emergency. to nbc meteorologist bill karins, who is tracking this mess. >> joy, from the beginning of march, i mean, this is pretty unprecedented cold. i mean, we're seeing

record-breaking cold temperatures for the month of march in some areas. the windchills are ridiculous. and of course, the snow that they're shoveling in areas as far south as richmond, washington, d.c., 4 to 8 inches are some of the high yes. windchill values are brutal behind this system, from texas northwards. and over the next ten days, there is no break from this pattern, cold air dominating the eastern half of the country. >> thank you very much. now we go to richard lui in philadelphia, where people aren't feeling a lot of brotherly love from mother nature. >> reporter: we're already in the record books, the third snowiest philadelphia ever. and today we got a little bit closer to that, although probably not quite hitting that number two mark as of yet. they're worried, of course, about breaking another record. last month they had over $100 million in damage to the utility here in the philadelphia area, in pennsylvania, according to a local utility. adding insult to injury here, we

could break a record tonight. if we hit 5 degrees the next 24 hours, we'll break a record going back over 142 years. >> okay, that's the weather forecast. it's cold and getting colder. so much for global warming, right? i mean, if it's this cold out, the earth can't possibly be getting warmer, right? now, it's an easy mistake to make. even your local tv weather forecaster can get confused by the concept. in fact, this is a list of weather forecasters compiled by forecast the facts, part of the center for american progress, thinkprogress.org, who have gone on record denying global warming exists. and in a 2010 survey, more than a quarter of tv meteorologists called global warming a scam. but here's the thing, global warming is not a weather forecast, and there is a big difference between climate and weather. for the record, websters dictionary defines weather as the state of the air and atmosphere at a particular time

and place. for example, rain, snow, cloudiness, whatever's happening outside your window right now. on the other hand, climate is defined as the average of weather conditions, including temperature, wind and precipitation that occurs over a period of years. so, let me repeat. climate is the average course of weather over a period of years. so, when we talk about global warming, we're talking about the conditions of earth's atmosphere over a long period of time. we're not talking about the weather outside. confused? well, know that there are people and interests who want you to be confused, in part because of the political opposition to making the changes that would curb greenhouse gases and global warming. think big oil, big coal and other fossil fuel industries. there are people who cultivate global warming denialism, and they even have a language for that, created by this guy, gop consultant frank luntz, who in 2002 advised republicans and then president george w. bush to just stop talking about global

warming because it's scary and start using a less scary phrase, climate change instead, because change isn't always so bad, right? i'm joined by two people who do know the difference, michael mann, penn state university professor and author of "the hockey stick and the climate wars," and bill nye the science guy, who's in our burbank bureau. thanks both of you for being here. i want to start with you, michael. did i explain that properly, the difference between climate and weather? >> yeah that was perfect, joy. by the way, it's great to be on with you and here with my great friend, bill nye, a hero to many of us. well, there's an even simpler way of breaking it down. >> please do. >> it was once famously put that weather is what you get, climate is what you expect. and what we expect is that, in fact, we will continue to get more and more extreme warm days and fewer and fewer cold days over time, and that's actually what we're seeing, despite the fact that there are some cold conditions that we've seen in some parts of the country this year. if you look at washington, d.c.,

if you look at los angeles where i was just at about a week ago, and all of these different locations, the number of extreme cold days is going down. the number of extreme warm days is going up. and that's climate. and it's climate change, and it's global warming. >> and can you complain, michael, what's so bad about that? what's so bad about having more warm days? >> well, if we have more warm days in winter and in spring, it starts to interfere with the seasonal cues that living things depend on, migration patterns, agricultural patterns. any time we have sharp changes in the seasonality of rainfall and temperature, we're going to see negative impacts, because we can't fully adapt to the changes that are coming, the rate of change that's taking place. but moreover, the winter warmth also translates to greater summer warmth. and what we know in washington, d.c., or just about any location around the u.s., if we continue on the course that we're on, if

we continue to increase the concentrations of these greenhouse gases and warm the planet under business as usual fossil fuel emissions, the warmest day that we've ever seen in the summer will become the typical day. >> right. >> whether you're here in washington, d.c., or there in new york where you are. >> and very quickly, bill, we have a very short time, but can you explain why there seems to be almost a religious aversion to believing in this, believing in global warming? >> well, it started with the fossil fuel industry, for sure, and they used this old idea that you can introduce -- you can make an equivalent to have scientific uncertainty be the same as uncertainty about the whole thing or the whole thing is wrong. and this is exactly the same pattern and even some of the same individuals that were used by the cigarette industry with, you know, doubt is our friend. now, the thing is, i was born in the u.s. michael was born in the u.s. michael, you have a couple of young kids, right? >> one, but she's a handful. >> we are concerned about the future. we want the u.s. to be the

leaders in this new technology that we're going to need to, especially energy storage technologies that are going to help us change the world. so, it's a very frustrating thing, when using conspiracies as an easy way out to explain this very complex climate situation and then to use that as an excuse and not do anything about it is troubling. thanks for having us on. >> indeed. okay. bill nye the science guy and michael mann, thank you both. >> thank you. all right, we want to go to breaking news. moments ago, president obama sat down with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to talk about a wide variety of issues. here's what president obama had to say at the top of that meeting about the crisis in ukraine. >> -- punishment that the u.s. is threatening against russia for their advances into ukraine don't seem to be having much of an effect. what leverage do you believe you have over president putin at this point? and is the u.s. concerned primarily about getting russian forces out of crimea, or are you also concerned about russian

forces moving into parts of eastern ukraine? >> all of the above. i spent the weekend talking to leaders across the earth, and i think the world is largely united in recognizing that the steps russia has taken are a violation of ukraine's sovereignty, ukraine's territorial integrity, that they're a violation of international law, they're a violation of previous agreements that russia has made with respect to how it treats and respects its neighbors, and as a consequence, we got strong statements from nato, from the g-7, condemning the actions that russia's taken. and we are going to continue these diplomatic efforts during the course of this week. my interest is seeing the ukrainian people being able to determine their own destiny.

russia has strong historic ties to the ukraine. there are a lot of russian nationals inside of ukraine as well as native russians, as there are a lot of ukrainians inside of russia. there are strong commercial ties between those two countries. and so, all of those interests, i think, can be recognized, but what cannot be done is for russia, with impunity, to put its soldiers on the ground and violate basic principles that are recognized around the world. and i think the strong condemnation that it's received from countries around the world indicates the degree to which russia's on the wrong side of history on this. we are strongly supportive of the interim ukrainian

government. john kerry's going to be traveling to kiev to indicate our support for the ukrainian people, to offer a very specific and concrete packages of economic aid, because one of the things we're concerned about is stabilizing the economy, even in the midst of this crisis. and what we are also indicating to the russians is that if, in fact, they continue on the current trajectory that they're on, that we are examining a whole series of steps -- economic, diplomatic -- that will isolate russia and will have a negative impact on russia's economy and its status in the world. we've already suspended preparations for the g-8 summit. i think you can expect that there would be further follow-up on that. we're taking a look at a whole

range of issues that john kerry mentioned yesterday. and the question for mr. putin, who i spoke to directly, and the question for the russian government generally is, if, in fact, their concern is that the rights of all ukrainians are respected, if, in fact, the primary concern, as they've stated, is that russian speakers and russian nationals are not in any way harmed or abused or discriminated against, then we should be able to set up international monitors and an international effort that mediates between various parties, that is able to broker a deal that is satisfactory to the ukrainian people, not to the united states, not to russia, but to the ukrainian people, and we should be able to deescalate

the situation. and so, we've been very specific with the russians about how that might be done under the auspices of either the united nations or the osce or any other international organization and john kerry will pursue that further when he arrives. and so, there are really two paths that russia can take at this point. obviously, the facts on the ground in crimea are deeply troubling and russia has a large army that borders ukraine. but when is also true is that over time, this will be a costly proposition for russia. and now's the time for them to consider whether they can serve their interests in a way that resorts to diplomacy as opposed to force. one last point i would make on this. you know, i've heard a lot of

talk from congress about what should be done, what they want to do. one thing they can do right away is to work with the administration to help provide a package of assistance to the ukrainia ukrainians, to the people and that government. and when they get back in, assuming the weather clears, i would hope that that would be its first order of business, because at this stage, there should be unanimity among democrats and republicans that when it comes to preserving the principle that no country has the right to send in troops to another country unprovoked, we should be able to come up with a unified position that stands outside of partisan politics. my expectation is that i'll be able to get congress to work with us in order to achieve that

goal. >> and that was president obama at the top of his meeting with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, responding to a question from a reporter about the current situation in ukraine, saying that the white house's principal interest is to see the ukrainian people determine their own destiny, expressing strong support for the interim government in ukraine, saying russia cannot, unimpeded with impunity put soldiers on the soil of the ukraine and violate basic principles. also a message to congress there, saying that members of congress who are speaking out and giving their opinions about what the administration is doing right and wrong ought to be able to come together with the administration and come up with a package of assistance to the people of ukraine. he mentioned that preparations for the g-8 summit, which would have been in sochi, have been suspended. reiterated that secretary of state john kerry will go back and said that, essentially, russia should be willing to look at a package of international monitors, adding an international presence to the situation to protect the interests of russians inside ukraine, but also, principally to protect the interests of the

ukrainian people. we will have more on this. we will stay with this story as it develops. time for the "entrepreneur of the week." christina wilson had friends who needed part-time work, and she had a sense parents were in the market for creative baby-sitters, so she started sitter studio. and now, those artists are taking care of kids across the city. for more, watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does.

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all right, the 86th annual academy awards broke barriers on sunday in a series of history-making moves. "12 years a slave" becoming the first best picture winner directed by a black director, and lupita nyong'o's best supporting actress win for the same movie seemed to herald a new commitment in tinseltown to telling broader stories. host ellen degeneres, a famously funny and also out member of the lbgt community led a telecast with departures from the homogeneous makeup. and alfonso cuaron became the first latino to win best director for "gravity." it snagged seven statues as the night's biggest winner. all that and cate blanchett called for more roles for women like "blue jasmine," as she accepted her best actress oscar for the film. and the cacademy could use some adversity. an "l.a. times" poll shows the

viewers, most are white and 77% are male. christopher bloom is here to talk more about diversity in hollywood. congratulations on being right pretty much on all your predictions. it was lupita's night, she was a cinderella story. >> she was. when i first saw her in the nairobi blue dress, she looked like cinderella. there's a cool photo that went viral of her next to cinderella, and it's so beautiful and it was really her big night. her speech was amazing, brought everyone to tears in the house and i think this was her moment. >> i think jared leto's speech also moved people, talked about ukraine -- >> absolutely. he talked about his mom and love when hollywood can go political. he was articulate and people paid attention. >> i think alfonso cuaron was a great story, but there were some negatives, too. there was a tweet that went out on "the huffington post" twitter feed that got a lot of people upset. >> yes. >> tell us about that. >> basically, chelsea handler, the comedian, took over

huffington post's twitter for three hours, basically from the beginning of the broadcast to the end and took down sidney poitier, tyler perry. one big tweet was about lupita nyong'o, and she said that, basically, the adoption papers have been cleared for angelina jolie to adopt lupita nyong'o, so it was a fairly insensitive, poor taste move. actually got a intent from "the huffington post." i talked to a publicist from there earlier and she told me that the views of chelsea handler are not their own. so, they're kind of backingway from this now. she's a comedian, so we can't take her that seriously. >> right. >> but she offended a lot of folks. >> they gave her control of their twitter account. this was a great night of adversity from ellen, who, it's interesting, it's not even a thing now, ellen's this out lesbian, brilliant comedian. then you had a diversity of winners. do you think this is a step forward or a blip in oscar history? >> i think it's a step forward and ellen nailed it, brought everything into the circus tent. the ratings are up from 2005, which was the best year. they actually have early numbers are 40 million viewers that

tuned in. so, it was a great broadcast and we broke barriers. just to think 75 years ago is the anniversary of hedda mcdaniels winning best supporting actress and now we have lupita nyong'o, who is not even american-born, winning this award as a black woman, the seventh black woman to win supporting actress. so, we've made great strides, it was a great broadcast and i think everyone loved it. >> and a big night for black britain as well. because "12 years a slave" directed by a black briton, not bad at all. >> a lot of folks didn't think that would win. >> you did. >> a lot of people thought "gravity" would win, but i said no, "12 years a slave." it was just a great film. "gravity" was groundbreaking, but this was a herat-wrenching story and solomon northrup's stories are a tale for the ages and i think we saw that last night. >> absolutely. it was a long broadcast. i don't know if it broke any records, but it was quite long but quite good. chris witherspoon got everything right, down to cate blanchett and everything else. thank you. >> thank you. >> it goes without saying that lupita nyong'o has quickly become an icon. in fashion, where designers are literally clamoring to dress

her, and as an actress who from the moment we see her sitting in a field making straw dolls in "12 years a slave," or declaring her humanity by a sliver of soap, took the personal narrative of solomon northrup and made it her film. but this is what lupita told "essen "essence" magazine as she accepted one of many awards at the seventh annual black women of hollywood luncheon just last week. she read from a letter from a young black girl. "dear lupita," it reads, "i think you're really lucky to be this black but yet this successful in hollywood overnight. i was just about to buy cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me." lupita said she never imagined her first big job out of yale drama school would mean so much to someone, and here's how she continued. >> i remember a time when i, too, felt unbeautiful. i put on the tv and only saw pale skin. i got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. and my one prayer to god, the

miracle worker, was that i would wake up lighter skinned. the morning would come and i would be so excited about seeing my new skin that i would refuse to look down at myself until i was in front of a mirror, because i wanted to see my fair face first. and every day i experienced the same disappointment of being just as dark as i had been the day before. >> it's hard to imagine that gorgeous woman feeling unbeautiful. and it's almost cliche at this point to say that darker women have had an uneven history in hollywood. hattie mcdaniel became the first black woman to win an oscar in 1940 for her portrayal of mamie in "gone with the wind," but it was lena horne and dorothy dandridge who became the black icons of that era. their european beauty standard has been the hollywood standard since then. grace jones, naomi campbell and michelle obama have all been celebrated by the fashion world. and cicely tyson, alfre woodard, viola davis, octavia spencer,

whoopi goldberg and kerry washington are all renowned, beautiful woulding actresses. but lupita is unique, because she's all of those things at once, a multiple award-winning actress and a fashion icon and a certified it girl who has captivated mainstream america and instantly redefined the beauty ideal. believe it or not, even in 2014, that's huge, and it makes her so important to that little girl who wrote that heartbreaking letter to my daughter and to all our daughters. and that wraps things up for "the reid report." i will see you back here tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. eastern. "the cycle" is up next. what have you got going today? >> hey. >> hey, joy, great message about lupita nyong'o. i was so proud of her and what it means for america. we'll talk about the oscars and greater implications of that. i'm going to talk about the beck tail test and what that tells you about where hollywood is and we'll have michael varietye in and somebody named luke skywalker is going to be with us -- >> what? >> -- for the whole hour.

i'm excited about that. >> uh-oh, a little miami in the house. sounds good. . ♪ they lived. ♪ they lived. ♪ (dad) we lived... thanks to our subaru. ♪ (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

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news breaking now on "the cycle," crisis in ukraine, russians move in, the world freaks out. i'm toure. president obama just spoke, secretary kerry is headed to the region, but then what? also in the news cycle today, blade runner on trial. oscar pistorius faces a south african judge and his girlfriend's family, charged with her murder. we're in pretoria as the trial begins. in the storm cycle, where's the snow in this latest winter blast has been a bust here in the northeast. yes, we're not complaining, but not everyone with say the same. i'm luke russert. apparently, i escaped d.c. just in time, but will i be able to make it back? stay tuned. i'm looking at you, amtrak. all right, all right, all right, abby, that is calling a tease! >> who are you? >> who are you? plus, cycling out of control. that's cold, i mean, gold.

hollywo hollywood's biggest night is over, but we're not done talking about it. i'm abby huntsman. from the crash of twitter to the pizza man with a special delivery, we'll get to that and maybe the awards, too. what cannot be done is for russia with impunity to put its soldiers on the ground and violate basic principals that are recognized around the world. if, in fact, they continue on the current trajectory that they are on, that we are examining a whole series of steps, economic, diplomatic, that will isolate russia. this will be a costly proposition for russia. >> t-minus nine hours until what some are calling russia's deadline for ukrainian troops to pull out of their own territory. we're now fielding conflicting